With fast food workers demanding equality and $15/hr wages being enacted by some major cities, franchisees are now unveiling what their new workers look like:
https://youtu.be/5TK9FADkzcI
H/T Economic Policy Journal
Tag / fast food
McDonald’s Brings Back The Hamburglar
Sometimes you have to wonder what goes on in marketing board rooms…..via New York Daily News and read whole story here.
Inflation Alert: Chipotle Restaurant
Chipotle Mexcican Grill recently made headlines by going “GMO Free” on certain ingredients. I believe this announcement was more of a marketing ploy against the news in their recent financial statements. I’m not a big investor of restaurants in this day and age of the Federal Reserve printing money at a high rate and American beef in demand world wide. (Some investment advice, put your money not in the restaurant but with the beef farmer) Chipotle is hiking prices again on its customers. Within a one year time period prices on certain items will have increased 11-13%.
This write up came from TheStreet.com a week before their GMO announcement –
Chipotle stands to receive another jolt to the top line from another round of price increases. The company, which has historically been reluctant to lift prices, confirmed it will hike prices on steak and barbacoa in the third quarter by 4% to 6% in order to compensate for persistent beef inflation.
In the second quarter last year, Chipotle implemented an across-the-board menu price increase of about 7%, as it dealt with beef, dairy and avocado inflation. Same-restaurant sales growth accelerated soon after the menu price increases went into effect — after rising by 13.1% in the first quarter of last year, same-restaurant sales increased averaged 17.7% in the remaining three quarters.
Chinese Restaurants vs. McDonald’s
Found this interesting data nugget here via Chinese Restaurant News:
there are nearly 41,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States, three times the number of McDonalds franchise units (and at $17 billion in annual sales, at a par with the gargantuan hamburger chain).
1960’s McDonald’s Menu
Credit Twitter Page “Historical Pics” (@historicalpics)
Mobile Ordering Available Now at Taco Bell
Taco Bell went way outside the bun to unveil an advanced mobile app that lets folks order and pay on their smartphones and then walk or drive in and pick up their food.
New technologies are driving the $683 billion restaurant industry like never before. McDonald’s and Starbucks both are spending huge sums on new technologies. So are Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Domino’s. Most are aimed at Millennial consumers who would much rather interact quickly with their smartphones than stand in line waiting to order or to be seated. Chili’s has technology that lets folks pay, order more food or play games on table-top tablets.
Some 56% of consumers ages 45 to 64 recently have used technology options in restaurants. Four of 10 have ordered food or looked up menus online in the past month. About a third have looked up restaurant locations on a smartphone. More than one in 10 have ordered takeout/delivery, looked up nutrition information or made a reservation via phone or tablet apps, he says.
Read the rest here via USA Today
Inflation Hits Five Guys Burgers
The best indicator of inflation is the prices you pay for everyday goods. I have a saying, the best economist is the consumer. Most consumers will self monitor the prices paid on goods they frequent. The picture below is a 2012 menu from Five Guys Burgers. The address is listed on top of the store location and the date of print is lower right hand corner.
I decided to go to the store website of the same address online to compare prices. You can view it yourself here at this link. Here are the price comparisons of 2014 and 2012.
Hamburger $5.79/$5.19 14.4% increase
Cheeseburger $6.49/$5.89 10% increase
Bacon Burger $6.69/$5.99 11.6% increase
Bacon Cheeseburger $7.29/$6.49 12.3% increase
Not all price have gone up. Drinks and fries have stayed the same. Hot dogs and Sandwiches have also increased.
Hoosier Econ 